Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 624 The Mechanical City in the Abyss (First Update)

"You're fiddling with something you don't understand. This isn't the first time, Stark!" Dinah raised her chainsaw, its fierce, silvery-white serrations reflecting the golden light of Jarvis's holographic projection, like a flickering fire in an ancient cave during a long night. Dinah's stern rebuke made Bruce Banner, who had almost been convinced, hesitate again. Clint also sensed something was wrong; even if he was slow to react, he could tell what Stark was up to. He immediately expressed his anger. This incomprehension filled Tony Stark's mouth with a burning taste; he felt his lungs being scorched by his impatience, the scorching embers filling his throat, making his breath indescribably hot.

He no longer felt that his eyes could be used, because the burning sensation had spread to his brain.

"It's a vicious cycle, Tony." Dr. Banner spread his arms. "It's like going back to the beginning, right here was where the problem started."

"This is the end, Banner!" The sudden outburst of anger startled Dr. Banner. Stark didn't look at anyone else; he let out a long sigh, trying to expel his rage. "I'm sorry, Banner," he apologized to Bruce Banner standing beside him, then looked at Hawkeye and the androids standing before him. "I know what I'm doing, and we have no other choice. Ultron is a ghost in the internet; we can't catch it! We must create an opponent stronger than it, one that it will fear!"

“And then what? Every time an AI goes out of control, you create a more powerful one?” Dinah placed her finger on the engine switch. “You have no idea what you’re doing, Stark. You can’t control AI. Even if you put Jarvis into that body, the cosmic powers will completely alter it,” she said. “This is a magical problem; you don’t understand anything about it.”

"Why didn't Salomon tell me?" Stark asked immediately. "Why didn't he stop me from the beginning? Like when I got off the plane, or when we were partying. He was perfectly capable of handling this."

"The ruler must see the potential of humanity."

"So we're just lab rats? All events are variables, only appearing to stop the experiment when it's about to destroy itself?" Diana felt Stark's sharp tongue hadn't diminished with maturity; on the contrary, he was becoming increasingly infuriating. Tony Stark pointed to the thing lying in the regeneration cradle, "If Salomon wants humanity to be able to face aliens independently, then this is the inevitable path! This is the future of human development!"

"It's also a future that will utterly destroy humanity, Stark. You don't understand how many possibilities the monarch has foreseen, and how many of those apocalypses you've created yourself." Diana pressed the engine button with her thumb. The dragon's heart began to beat again, pumping high-pressure blood rich in magic, causing the unclean roars of the machine and the dragon to echo through the laboratory once more. The pungent stench of blood and sulfur, enough to make anyone nauseous, filled the nostrils of the mortals present. The dragon's soul craved to taste blood again, whether from mortals or angels. All the humans felt uncomfortable, but this was only one-thousandth of the dragon's power and killing intent when it was still alive.

Only at this moment did they understand the true determination of the android before them.

She represents the will of Salomon.

"You know the monarch's thoughts, and you know which is more important, your life or the future of humanity." Her voice was drowned out by the rising engine noise; the others could only make out a few words. All they saw was the ornately decorated but still undeniably crude large-caliber pistol that Diana removed from her waist. "I will not allow anyone to tarnish the monarch's efforts for his ideals. He made his choice, and so did you..."

"etc!"

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"Ah! Good morning, Captain!"

"You're too late, Salomon. The mission is over." Steve Rogers wasn't surprised to see Salomon there. He had a feeling this operation would soon be in the news, but what surprised him was the happy expression on the faces of the Maximov siblings when they saw him. Although they quickly masked it, it still made Captain Rogers suspicious.

“There’s no need to hide it, Wanda.” Salomon stood in the shadows beside the train wreckage, waving his hand listlessly. “Kamar-Taj detected her magical abilities as soon as they awakened. To prevent her from causing serious trouble by casting spells carelessly, I even taught her some spellcasting techniques to avoid hurting herself. Wanda could be considered my apprentice, though she’s not quite up to par.” Captain Rogers remained silent, waiting for Salomon to continue. But Salomon didn’t explain immediately. Instead, he greeted the Maximov siblings openly, though he unhesitatingly refused any hugs, as if even the slightest touch was unbearable for him.

"Your hands are cold!"

Wanda Maximov began recounting her experiences since leaving the castle, while also inquiring about Salomon's temperature. Salomon listened with growing disdain. "Why didn't you deform the wheels or remove a crucial component? I remember telling you that crude, straightforward spellcasting is the most foolish; fire, ice, and psychic magic don't always work," Salomon complained about his apprentice's spellcasting skills. "Or you could turn the ground into a swamp."

"It would be hard to explain for anyone if a swamp suddenly appeared in Seoul." Reluctantly, Captain Rogers steered the conversation back to his own topic. "I remember you had something to do today. Is the magical world also interested in artificial intelligence? Or are you here specifically to find Wanda Maximoff and plan to take her away?"

"No, not today. There's no magic lesson today." Salomon's answer brought a sigh of relief to everyone present. The Maximoff siblings' power was indispensable in dealing with Ultron, as was Salomon's. Wanda and Pietro, however, were thinking about how to solve the problem they had created—no matter how poor their lives had been, the Maximoff siblings had always felt love, and they knew the preciousness of life.

"I did have something to do today, so I didn't come to Seoul."

"and you……"

Salomon stepped out of the shadows, and Captain Rogers was astonished to see the sunlight piercing through his body, as if passing through tinted glass. Though dim, it was still clearly visible. If anyone was still curious, Salomon could bluntly tell them that the brightness had been reduced by eighty-five percent. Wanda thought for a few seconds, finally recalling some of the lessons Salomon had briefly explained to her.

"Alchemy Simulation!"

“Not entirely accurate, it’s an advancement of the Alchemical Simulation, a Doppelganger Simulation. It’s a replica made of ice and snow, capable of housing my consciousness,” Salomon said. “Wanda, this is the scroll prepared for you to take you to Stark Industries. Dinah might be able to stop Stark, but she’s too radical; I need you to keep things under control. I’m currently in an outer dimension seeking a solution to Ultron’s problem, and I will return when necessary.”

"Where are you?"

"The Abyss." Salomon opened his eyes, gazing at the blackened mechanical city forged on the earth. If molten iron was the city's blood, then the boilers, crafted with arcane power, were its heart. Thick industrial fumes gathered atop the towering city walls, acid rain fell incessantly, flowing out through massive sewage pipes, and the ethereal beings, the embodiment of intelligent beings' malice, toiled tirelessly. Even thousands of meters away, Salomon and Phoenix could hear the incessant hammering and acrid stench emanating from the city. The red sand beneath their feet, mixed with iron filings, trembled along with the distant heart of the city, the intense thirst for metal mingling with the city's very breath.

This is the massive wound the Abyss has carved into the Prime Material Plane, a manifestation of cursed, chaotic materialization. The mineral deposits of planets swallowed by the Abyss are transformed into even more repulsive, cursed, and malevolent demonic soldiers, which are then sent to the demonic front to devour the blood and souls of mortals, devils, angels, and even the demons themselves.

Pegasus shook its head; it didn't like the tingling sensation in its teeth.

Salomon's pinky ring on his left hand was as hot as molten iron, and the ancient covenant told him that a lion was trapped in a mechanical city.

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(End of this chapter)